There's never been a more important time to ensure you eat well than when you're pregnant! After all, during pregnancy, your baby is taking much of your nutrition, so it's extremely important to ensure that your body gets what it needs.

You need to ensure that what you consume fuels both you and your baby and sets the scene for after they're born and your breastfeeding.

It's also going to set the groundwork towards your own recovery, making it increasingly likely that you'll have an easier and quicker recovery post birth.

In this episode, I'm talking with nutritionist and food scientist, Kate Boyle who shares some great tips and insights on how to ensure your diet during these early stages, supports your recovery and nurtures your little one as they begin their precious journey.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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Self care for moms is something that many moms I speak with find challenging. With insufficient time in the day to deal with everything, particularly with the latest addition to the family, this is of course completely understandable.

I was thrilled to recently meet Charlotte Caunter who has a remarkable story to tell. Charlotte's experience for me is a reminder of the importance of looking after yourself and ensuring that you live your life, without the modern tendency to burn the candle at both ends.

For some years, Charlotte has been a holistic burnout coach for moms but she came from a background in mental health and lived a life that was go, go, go. At just 32, Charlotte found herself faced with one of the scariest things any of us can face, cancer!

I'm sure you'll find Charlotte's journey and how she turned her life around as amazing as I did. She's an amazingly positive lady with an amazing zest for life.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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One of the biggest challenges that many of the parents that I speak with face is being constantly tired or exhausted due to restless nights and time needed to settle their little one.

After looking after babies for many years I'm familiar with a lot of the traditional sleep programs and the practices they encourage such as crying it out. I don't know about you, but I've always found this practice heartbreaking.

I just think it's so sad to leave a baby to cry!

I was thrilled to recently meet Cara Tyrrell since we share a childcare educator background with similar experiences. Cara founded her business Core4Parenting an online community and course platform for parents and caregivers that follows the developmental path of the young child, while educating, empowering and engaging parents and caregivers to be their child's brain architect between birth and 5 years old, setting them up for success in school and life.

In this episode Cara talks about her sleep soothing system which is all about teaching babies their first life skill that they can do by themselves. I found what she has to say fascinating and wow, this is such a welcome change to the traditional sleep training programs!

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Have you ever noticed yourself reacting in a certain way to your child's behavior, felt ashamed and then thought to yourself "where on Earth did that come from"?

Many of us have triggers from our past that influence how we behave as parents and I've always felt that having an awareness of their origins is an important starting point in any healing.

After all, you want to be present for your kids as the "best you", right?

Today's guest, mother of 3, Laura Linklater is a Cycle-Breaker Parent Mentor and has been there, having been brought up in a household with alcoholism.

You'll hear Laura talk about many topics including:-

• Seeing your child as your awakener.
• The importance of having a connection with your child.
• Her collaborative problem solve method.

Laura shares loads of great tips and insights in this episode to help parents break their cycles so that they can support their children to flourish.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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When you're a new mom it's hard finding time for yourself isn't it! You hardly have a minute to breathe! Many of the moms I speak with yearn for opportunities to get out and enjoy the great outdoors again and they often reminisce about hiking and other adventures.

Those with family either interstate or overseas also face the logistical challenges of finding the time and coping with the cost associated with visiting them.

Today's guest, Jodi Fried who is an empowerment coach for women, is no stranger to these challenges! Jodi lives in the United States but is originally from South Africa and with four children and a 30 hour flight to contend with, to visit great grandparents and other family, she's had some challenges to overcome!

In this episode Jodi shares some great tips and insights on how to find that spark again and to build that adventurous life you crave with your new family.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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In this episode I'm speaking with Kristin Mallon, who is a board certified nurse midwife, breast health expert, published author and a mother of four.

Kristin has attended over 1,000 births so has a huge wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things childbirth.

I used the opportunity to ask Kristin some of the burning questions that I'm often asked by mums who are just embarking on their parenting journey and there's some great tips and insights in this episode on topics including the first hour after birth and latching.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Not surprisingly, many of the moms I speak with are often nervous and frightened about the next stage of their lives after having their baby.

After all, there's lots for them to consider including caring for their newborn, recovering from birth, particularly where there's been any trauma and adapting to caring for their little one. And to add to the stress, their relationship is often put to the test as more and more time is demanded of them.

A postpartum doula provides crucial essential emotional, physical and mental support to new moms, easing the stress in their lives. Kristin Revere is the co-owner of a doula agency located in Michigan in the US and provides birth support and classes for new moms, including a new online course and they have students located all over the world. You'll hear from Kristin about their amazing community and the support they can provide to mums like you.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Not surpisingly, healthy eating and nutrition are topics which often come up on First Time Mum's Chat and I've interviewed a number of wonderful ladies on these topics.

My observation is that the focus is often mainly on weight and of course for new mums, ensuring that their intake is beneficial to breastfeeding.

However, something that I feel is often neglected when eating regimes are being revised and planned is the topic of brain health. Too often, this takes a back seat and you'll hear from today's guest, holistic nutritionist and Brain Health Coach, Julie Gervais about why this is so important.

After all, by feeding our brains healthy nutrient dense foods, we are providing it what it needs to help us live fuller and richer lives.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Welcome to a very special episode of First Time Mum's Chat. Yes, this is the 50th episode of the podcast and I'm excited to have reached this amazing milestone! I'd like you to picture me blowing out the 50 candles on my virtual birthday cake.

Since January, 2021 I've talked with loads of amazing ladies from countries including Australia, the UK, Ireland, Canada and the US from all walks of life.

My goal is to help mums embarking on their parenting journey with helpful useful tips and insights to help them support their little ones and we've covered many great topics over these 12 months to help you!

In this episode I'm doing something different. Firstly, I'm going to look back over this year by sharing some snippets with you from some of the episodes and then to whet your appetites, you'll also hear some snippets from some episodes that are coming in the first few months of 2022.

As someone whose background includes many years as a childcare educator, I've always been big on encouraging children to use their imagination and explore their world through play.

Perhaps with our modern tendency towards busyness, I've observed a tendency for parents to overcomplicate play.

If you've listened to some of my other podcast episodes, you'll know that I'm a fan of simplicity and being in touch with nature and this is no different when it comes to play.

I'm thrilled in this episode to be talking with Sarah Bolitho, who is a therapeutic play practitioner. Sarah and I have similar attitudes to play for children and you'll hear some great insights in this episode on areas including pretend play and how to use it to build the parent-child relationship and simplify the idea of what it means to play.

Play is an incredibly important part of your child's life and you'll hear why in this episode.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast.

Subscribe now!